Dee Light Website

HAWKSHAW

Bob and Laurel

42 foot Sea Ray

DEE LIGHT

Marv and Betty

60 foot Viking

SCINTILLATOR

Tony and Rose

45 foot Sea Ray

SEA BUFF

Bob and Gayle

53 foot Navigator

LADY SHARON

Bill and Sharon

53 foot Ferretti

Dee Light - Cruise Log

Bahamas 2007- Log A

Fort Myers Florida to Bimini Bahamas

Links to Log A Photos

Photos A or Photos B or Photos C or Photos D or

Links to Log A or Log B or Log C or Log D or Log E or Log F

Royal Palm Yacht Club - Bahamas 2007

The Boaters at Royal Palm Yacht Club ( Fort Myers Florida ) have historically had a Cruise to the Bahamas every other year .. the last RPYC Cruise to the Bahamas took place in 2005 .. at that time the Cruise of five Vessels was headed up by the Crew of Dee Light .. the Crew of Dee Light is again heading up the Bahamas 2007 Cruise .. the following is our Log of our Cruise

Week of June 03rd location - Bimini	Wednesday - we will be spending the day at Bimini exploring and relaxing .. - click here for Log B ..
Week of June 03rd our location - Marathon LADY SHARON and SEA BUFF the Crossing Dinner - Bimini	Tuesday - today we will be traveling from Marathon Florida to Bimini Bahamas .. - we were a little slow getting going this morning ..LADY SHARON, SEA BUFF and DEE LIGHT left the Marina about 06:40 am as we planed to travel slower .. HAWKSHAW and SCINTILLATOR pulled out at about 08:45 am as they travel much faster .. - since the Seas were calm we did not do Hawk's Channel .. we headed out to the Straights of Florida and took a left and headed for the Bahamas .. - once when I looked back at SEA BUFF I noted that they took a little dive to Starboard ( 35 degrees ) and then rebounded to a level position abruptly .. Bob indicated that if the two Dogs were Cats they would have been clinging to the Salon Ceiling for their lives .. and that the Wine Cabinet found a new location all on its own .. if SEA BUFF has any junk in their Fuel Tanks it is now being recycled .. - when we made it into the Strength's of Florida we picked up 4.5 knots due to the current as well as the following breeze .. - we had great Seas for our Crossing .. 1.5 foot Waves from the Southwest and about a 2.0 foot Roller from the Southeast .. - the first three of us were docked at Bimini Bay Marina and were filling out our Customs Papers by 02:00 pm .. HAWKSHAW and SCINTILLATOR tried to get Fuel but will have to wait until after they clear Customs so they went directly to the Marina also and were docked at the Marina by 04:15 pm .. - we rented two Golf Carts at the Marina .. the Marina ( Bimini Bay ) is located quite a ways away from the downtown area of the Island on the North end of the North Bimini Island .. - Bimini Bay Resort has been under construction for 8 to 10 years and still has a LONG ways to go .. welcome to the Bahamas .. - Betty set up dinner at the Red Lion Pub in the downtown section of the City .. Bernie and Barbara ( SITTING DUCK ) joined us for dinner .. we all had true native 'deelights' and our first 'Bahamian Bread' ..
Week of June 03rd our location - Fort Myers Dolphins on River HAWKSHAW LADY SHARON dinner at Annette's	Monday - at 03:30 am I checked the weather and updated the Virtual Buoy Data links .. all looks good to head out this morning .. - today we will be traveling from Fort Myers Florida to Marathon Florida .. - after dealing with Bill's ( LADY SHARON ) Generator ( it had a little 'hiccup' the first thing in the morning ) we made it out of Legacy Harbour Marina at 06:25 am ..as we pulled out of the Harbour Betty and David ( SONG of the SOUTH and Pattie ( TRUELOVE ) blew their Conh Shell .. - two Dolphins played in our wake as we headed down the River to the Gulf .. - our RPYC Fleet Captain Randy greeted us as we passed by their place in Sanibel .. - the Seas from the Sanibel Bridge to Marco were at about 1.5 foot and from Marco to Marathon they flattened right out .. - HAWKSHAW took the lead with SCINTILLATOR right behind him .. DEE LIGHT and LADY SHARON stayed fairly close and SEA BUFF hung back for us to clear out all the Crab Pots .. - at about 02:00 pm Bernie ( SITTING DUCK ) called and said that they had made it to Bimini and that their Seas were about the same as ours .. - aall five of our First Mates had a very good and long naps in route .. - by 04:30 pm all five Bots had full Fuel Tanks and all but SEA BUFF were in their assigned Slips .. SEA BUFF had a tide issue to deal with on their way to their Slip .. but right at LOW Tide ( 06:45 pm ) they made their way to their assigned Slip with a little assistance from XXXXXXXXXX ( something's will just have to stay in the Keys ) .. it was a PHOTO FINISH .. - Betty set up dinner plans and transpiration for eight of us at Annette's Lobster House in the downtown part of Marathon .. Weather - from NOAA ( Fort Myers to Marathon ) SOUTHWEST WINDS 5 TO 10 KNOTS. SEAS 2 FEET OR LESS. BAY AND INLAND WATERS A LIGHT CHOP
Week of June 03rd our location - Fort Myers Below are some interesting 'links' to look at before doing a crossing NOAA LOOP Gulf Stream Satellite Images APL Ocean	Sunday - a few days ago I decided to have Algae-X Fuel Conditioning in-line ( Voodoo ) units installed .. Joe ( Universal Marine Service ) did the work .. last night when I was in the Engine Room I detected an abnormal Fuel order .. well this morning I cleaned up the Fuel etc and found a small Fuel leak on one of the new connections .. Joe will be back later today to fix the leak .. I also bought a small backup Colman Generator .. we just gotta get out of Dodge so I stop buying stuff .. - .. after a most 'delightful' evening at the Seafood Buffet and Lobsterfest last night the Bahamas Crew will be doing that last minute ''stuff' before heading out for Marathon in the morning ( Monday ) .. after spending one night at the Marathon Cay Club we will be heading to the Bahamas in the morning .. - Bob ( HAWKSHAW ) called and said that his new Navigation Laptop CRASHED this morning .. UGH !! .. after spending a little time at the Computer Lab ( DEE LIGHT's Back Deck ) we were able to get it up and running again .. - after one last trip to Daddy Dees Ice Cream Parlor and dinner we finished up our last minute 'stuff' .. Weather - it was windy all night and is still windy this morning .. now that BARRY has passed thru the area and provided us with some greatly needed rain we look forward to today being a good day to let the Seas level out ..
Week of May 21st our location - Fort Myers RPYC Seafood Buffet and Lobsterfest Legacy Harbour Marina Fort Myers Florida	Saturday - when I did the Lines this morning the winds were warm and very gusty blowing DEE LIGHT all around in the Slip .. but the Forecast still looks good to head out on Monday morning and on to the Bahamas on Tuesday .. by mid-day Tropical Storm BARRY was making landfall in the Tampa Florida area and we were getting the Weather Bands on the backside of BARRY .. the Weather Bands were GUSTY and had a little rain with them .. as each Band passed thru I was more convinced that we made the right decision to wait on Mother Nature before we headed out .. by 11:30 am BARRY was downgraded to a Tropical Depression .. - we rocked and rolled all day aboard DEE LIGHT .. - in the afternoon Betty returned to DEE LIGHT after spending the last few days at her place .. later all of the Bahamas 2007 Boaters attended to Seafood Buffet and Lobsterfest to the RPYC .. Bill had his 1.5 pound Lobster and Sharon had her Beef .. we all had a very upbeat evening .. and there were over 120 there to see us off .. HA !! .. Weather - Tropical Storm Barry was deemed by us to be more like "Beneficial Barry" .. at out Weather Station ( link on left ) we received over 1.5 inches of rain since yesterday .. looking outside this morning, most of BARRY's "punch" has moved on but the Circulation Center of the Storm is still in the Gulf of Mexico and that means that, technically, we are still dealing with a Tropical Storm albeit a poorly organized one .. the Storm will continue rapidly moving Northeast today and weaken .. we should see some windy weather this morning and there may be a few wind gusts around 40 mph in the area .. ie time to check the Lines on our Boats .. the good news is that Tropical Storm BARRY is moving so fast across the Gulf of Mexico that it has not been able to generate the strength to become a Hurricane .. and the other good news is that BARRY has provided much badly needed RAIN for Florida .. check out DeeLightWebsite Hurricane Center for latest details ..
Week of May 21st our location - Fort Myers Tropical Storm BARRY Wave Heights 'click' to enlarge	Friday - ( 2007-06-01 ) the first day of Hurricane Season .. UGH !! .. - we had a very good Skippers Meeting aboard DEE LIGHT .. and based on our most recent Weather information we decided to head to Marathon on Monday morning if we have positive Weather Reports after the current weather moves thru .. once we make it to Marathon we will head to the Bahamas on the next day .. I have had to total change out routing .. ugh !! ..we also upgraded all out Waypoints and Routes on our Nobeltec Navigation Systems .. since we have not been able to get out of 'Dodge' yet Bill ( LADY SHARON ) made a reservation for all of us to go to the Seafood Buffet & Lobsterfest at the Royal Palm Yacht Club on Saturday evening .. Weather - we had on and off badly needed rain all day .. - a large area of disturbed weather was over the Western Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico in association with a non-tropical area of low pressure all day .. at 02:00 pm NOAA name the storm Tropical Storm BARRY .. we should end up with an increase in our winds .. UFFFFDA !! .. it should move thru our area quickly and should benefit the area with the rains that it will provide .. ie 'Beneficial BERRY' .. - I have had the 'Wave Height' link ( on left side ) on the Weather Page of our DeeLightWebsite for a number of years .. as Tropical Storm BERRY passes thru it will be most interesting to watch the Wave Heights change .. it will also be a good tool for us as we look ahead to boating from Fort Myers and also onto the Bahamas ..'click' on the link to enlarge it ..
Week of May 21st Lake Okeechobee Lake Okeechobee On Fire	Thursday - Lake Okeechobee, the "liquid heart" of South Florida and one of the largest lakes in the United States, tied the record low water level of 8.97 feet Wednesday .. and today the lake dropped to a record low of 8.94 feet .. the previous record was set in 2001 .. drought conditions at the lake qualify for a 1-in-100-year event .. only 40 inches of rain have fallen on the area in the past 18 months, about half the normal amount .. - based on what the Weather Forecasters are saying we are planning to leave Fort Myers on Sunday June 03rd for Marathon .. then on either Monday the 04th or Tuesday the 05th we will be leaving Marathon for Bimini Cay Resort and Marina .. all weather permitting .. - after docktails we headed to the Bar Association for dinner .. Weather - MEXICO CITY - Tropical Storm Barbara formed Wednesday off the southwestern coast of Mexico and could strengthen to a hurricane within days, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said .. UFFFFDA !! what next ??? ..
Week of May 21st our location - Fort Myers LADY SHARON	Wednesday - after getting fed up with the weather pattern moving so slow today Betty abandon the Ship and moved to her place near Fort Myers Beach .. I spent the day trying to juggle Temporary Dockage reservations and take a good hard look at Plan B .. ie instead of doing the Bahamas this Summer we would head up the East Coast towards the Chesapeake Bay area .. - at High Tide Bill and Sharon moved LADY SHARON from Cape Coral to the Royal Palm Yacht Club .. see photo .. - Phyllis from the RPYC had developed a new word for the Bahamas 2007 Boaters .. it is Uffda-bama .. “Uffda” is self explanatory .. “Bama” is short for Bahamas .. Uffda-bama can be a noun .. i.e. “an uffda-bama (party) was attended by all the cruisers.” .. Uffda-bama can be a verb, (We’ve been uffda-bamaed!), i.e. “The Bahamas 2007 Cruisers are all uffda-bamaed (disgusted and staying put) .. You’ve just got to laugh .. Weather - for the first time since we have been watching the Virtual Buoy's that I set up they are starting to give us some good news .. see 'models' for details ..
Week of May 21st our location - Fort Myers new Buoy Chart Buoy Data to Miami our Weather .. UGH !!	Tuesday - since we are looking at a number of different options and since some of the options bring us up the Hawk's Channel to Miami I have added a fourth Virtual Buoy .. Buoy Data to Miami .. for the location of this Virtual Data location click on the little Chart to the left .. at the same time I have altered the location of the 'Bimini' Buoy Data location slightly .. you can also see this new location on the Chart to the left .. - the past number of days have been a real test of everyone's patience .. according to Webster the meaning of patience is .. Patience is the ability to endure waiting, delay, or provocation without becoming annoyed or upset, or to persevere calmly when faced with difficulties. Impatience is an opposite of patience. - well our Bahamas 2007 Crew could write the book on patience .. and in the morning it will only be a one week delay in from our original departure date of May 23rd 2007 .. .. Weather - there appears to be a little 'Lull' in the winds and wave heights today but after talking to Dane Clark of Jenifer Clark's Gulfstream .. he indicated that he has talked to a number of Captains that are in the Florida Straights today and they have indicated that the 4 to 6 Wave Heights today are really 6 to 8 footers .. UGH .. our weather will only clear up when the large Storm Cell to the East of the Bahamas passes thru the area .. ie 'click' on the 'our Weather' photo to the left ..
Week of May 21st our location - Fort Myers Jimmy Buffet Party Gayle and Bob ( SEA BUFF )	Monday - Memorial Day - this morning we called Tim and Cathy ( LUV N LIFE ) .. they headed out of Fort Myers last week to bring their Boat back up to their home in the Chesapeake Bay area .. they were going to head to Key West first but after spending five windy days in Marco they decided to just head up North .. .. so yesterday ( Sunday ) they headed to Marathon .. Tim said that they stayed about three miles off the Shore Line as far as they could and had modest Seas .. once they were in the 'open water' on their way to the Bridge at Marathon the waters got a little 'lumpy' and some of their interior stuff was relocated .. Rich and Nancy helped them Dock their Boat at the Marathon Cay Club .. they plan to head to Miami today ( Monday ) - at about 02:00 pm we had a mini Bahamas 2007 Skippers Meeting .. after much discussion we decided to watch the weather and to be ready for a Weather Window to cross the Florida Straights .. right after our meeting Gayle and Bob ( SEA BUFF ) hosted our first Bahamas 2007 Party .. the party was planned to be held in the Bahamas but Gayle and Bob had our Jimmy Buffet Party at The Chickee Hut at the Legacy Harbour Marina .. the Party was complete with Cheese Burgers, Margaritas, Tattoos, a dip in the Pool, Jimmy Buffet Music, Deviled Eggs etc .. and the evening was topped off with our first NASCRAB Races and a fantastic Berry Pie .. ( and I ended up with all the leftover Berry Pie ) we all had a GREAT time .. Weather - JUST PLAIN WINDY !! ..
Week of May 21st our location - Fort Myers Buoy Data Chub to Nassau	Sunday - the good news is that it appears that our 'Widow' to do the Crossing from Florida to the Bahamas is still open .. but the bad news is that the 'window' is moving to the 'right' on all of the Sea Data stuff .. this afternoon I added another Buoy Data site about half way between Chub and Nassau .. the Lat/Lon is listed on the Chart .. - I spent much of the day trying to set up new Temporary Dockage arrangements at the Marinas in the Bahamas .. most all of the Marinas have been filled for the next number of Months ahead .. UFFFDA !! - in the late afternoon we drove to the Bird Sanctuary to take photos of the Birds .. well there were NO Birds .. maybe they know something that we don't .. from there we drove to Captiva for a walk on the Beach .. on our way back we stopped at Sanibel for dinner and another walk on Bowman's Beach to take in the Sunset Weather - well the Bermuda High has started to move but it is moving like a Snail .. it should take some lessons from the NASCRAB that were at the RPYC last night .. NOAA in Gulf - SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF THE KEYS NOAA in Gulf Stream - SMALL CRAFT SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION
Week of May 20th our location - Fort Myers Buoy Data Locations click on chart to enlarge Buoy Data to Marathon Buoy Data to Bimini	Saturday - at our Bahamas 2007 Meeting last night we spent much time talking about .. at our Bahamas 2007 Meetings we have spent a lot of time talking about WEATHER .. ie Winds, Sea Heights, Buoy Data etc - so this morning I added two links ( see to the left ) to our Bahamas 2007 Log .. ie Buoy Data to Marathon and Buoy Data to Bimini .. once you 'click' on either of the 'links' you will find a pdf file ( ie printable ) that will have the latest information that I have posted .. I will be updating the two Buoy Locations when I see changes .. and as you can see the info just overnight has really changed dramatically and for the GOOD !!! .. I hope that these will be helpful 'Tools' that we can use in our decision making process .. - Betty and I ended up at the NASCRAB Races at the Royal Palm Yacht Club .. we had a great evening !! Weather - GREAT NEWS !!! .. the Bermuda High that has been stationary for DAYS is finally starting to move to the East a little .. NOAA in Gulf - SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FOR ALL OF THE KEYS NOAA in Gulf Stream - SMALL CRAFT SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION
Week of May 20th our location - Fort Myers	Thursday and Friday - all five Boats are packed and everyone is more than ready to head out as soon as we get a break in the weather .. we decided to have another Bahamas 2007 Options Meeting .. we will be meeting at the Club Friday night .. - 06:00 pm - we had another meeting with all the Bahamas 2007 Boaters .. after much discussion by all we decided to hold tight with our plans and 'watch' the weather until Tuesday of next week .. we also decided to have our first Bahamas 2007 Theme Party .. it will be held on Memorial Day at the Legacy Harbour Marina and will be hosted by Bob and Gayle ( SEA BUFF ) .. after our meeting we had dinner at Delicious Things ( downtown Fort Myers ) .. Weather - the HIGH that is located to the East of the United States has not moved at all and there will not be any change in the weather until it does move out of the area .. the weather reports are starting to be like listening to a broken record .. ie NO CHANGE at all ..
Week of May 20th our location - Fort Myers	Wednesday - this is the day that we had planned to head out of Fort Myers for the Bahamas with our first Port being Marco Island .. but instead we are in the 'Weather Watching Stage' .. Tony and Marv kept tabs on the Weather and compared notes .. UGH !! .. the long range forecast does not look good at all .. Bill and Sharon did a last minute repair to the main door to their Boat .. we are ready and waiting for the Seas Weather - NOAA - Small craft exercise caution in effect from 8 PM EDT this evening through Thursday morning
Week of May 20th our location - Fort Myers	Tuesday - all of us spent all day doing all those last minute things to get ready to head out on Wednesday morning .. after talking with a number of other Boaters that are now on the East Coast and watching the weather all we decided to have a mini-Skippers Meeting at 05:00 pm .. just before our meeting I talked with Bernie ( SITTING DUCK ) they had made it from Cape Coral to Marathon today and are now on a Mooring Ball in the Boot Key Harbour .. at our Skippers Meeting we had three topics at our meeting .. ie Wednesday Morning, Weather and Options .. after MUCH weather discussion we wisely decided on holding off our Wednesday departure until we see a weather break on the East Coast .. Weather - today NOAA - 'East winds 10 to 15 knots...decreasing to 15 knots by late morning. Seas 2 to 4 feet. Bay and inland waters choppy' ..
Week of May 20th our location - Fort Myers	Monday - today was a much better day aboard DEE LIGHT .. Ross made it to the Boat shortly after 08:00 am and by 08:30 am the Water Maker was running better than ever and by 10:00 am DEE LIGHT's bottom was all cleaned .. with all the Phone calls it was evident that the Boats are getting stocked up with all that last minute 'stuff' .. Laurel, Sharon and Rose got together and did some last minute shopping and lunch .. Weather - today has been a great day .. two foot Seas with the winds from the East .. but looking ahead the weather forecast for Wednesday and Thursday does not look good at all ..
Week of May 13th our location - Fort Myers The Bahamas 2007 Crew	- this week did not start out good for the Crew of Dee Light .. I installed a Nobeltec Navigation System for Bob ( HAWKSHAW ) .. when I was all but done with Bob's new System I used my Navigation Laptop to check out Bob's System and just as I was completing the project my Nobeltec Navigation System DIED .. UFFFFDA !! .. ie in addition to having to secure a new Laptop I also LOST ALL my Waypoints and Routs that I had for the entire Bahamas Cruise ..so after securing a new Laptop I have been spending the week getting Nobeltec installed on the new Laptop .. I also worked with Bill ( LADY SHARON ) and Bob ( SEA BUFF ) fine tuning their Navigation Systems .. - in addition to our Navigation Computer problems when Ross ( Classic Yacht Service ) came to activate our Water Maker we discovered a problem with the Control Panel on the Water Maker .. thus far Ross has ordered and received two replacement Panels and thus far the Water Maker is still not in operation .. - on Friday the 18th we had our last Orginational Meeting in preparation for heading out on the 23rd and at the same time we had our first Skippers Meeting ..
the Months before the Cruise our location - Fort Myers Lars Larsen	- the last number of days / weeks have been busy getting all those last minute things done before we head out for a number of weeks .. stocking the Boats, getting all of the systems on the Boats checked out, securing the Navigation Charts, Books etc .. - we have had a number of pre Bahamas 2007 Planning Meetings that have been of much help .. and we have made our Slip Reservations for most of our trip based on our anticipated Schedule .. - in the last couple of weeks we have made sure that our Passports are current, secured or updated our US Customs Decals, secured our Pets Permits from the Bahamas Director of Agriculture, completed our Pets Physical paperwork, etc etc .. so we are 'set to sail' .. - in March Lars Larsen designed manufactured and delivered our 'wooden memorable' that we are planning to leave at Boo Boo Hill that is located at Warderick Wells ( Exuma Land and Sea Park ) .. it is truly a work of art .. see photos .. - last Fall the State of Florida came up with a 'Local Boaters Option ( LBO ) .. the purpose of program is to cut down the time, paperwork and hassle that Boaters have had to go thru when returning to the US after traveling into Waters outside of the US .. so we have all secured out LBO Cards .. on our return trip we will see if they work ..